Show me the money! (Part 1) What is Go-to-Market?

Welcome! Over the next few weeks, we will be posting a series on the importance of Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy—a significant tool for successful business development and sales efforts. So, let’s start at the beginning.

What is Go-to-Market?

While the term seems self-explanatory (no, it is not about a trip to the grocery store), developing and executing an actionable GTM strategy can elude even the most experienced professionals. And, regardless of where your company is in the spectrum of selling to the Federal Government, you need to seriously consider a solid, executable GTM strategy.

A GTM strategy is an action plan for your organization, specifically developed using internal and external research that outlines how to reach customers and achieve competitive advantage. The purpose of the GTM strategy is to provide a roadmap for delivering your products and/or services to the end customer, understanding such factors as pricing and distribution.

Even if you’re a current federal contractor, a well-developed GTM strategy can help ensure the success of new product/service launches or product/service expansions, as it describes the specific steps you need to take to guide customer engagement and interactions. New or young companies—or commercial companies looking to pursue Federal Government opportunities—should certainly view GTM strategy as a necessary action if you’re just starting out and trying to navigate the Federal Government space.

Research lays the foundation for GTM strategy. An initial step of your company’s GTM strategy development is to define and understand the target market for your product and/or service. Whether it’s uncovering new customers for expanding your footprint across the Federal Government, or determining whether your existing customers could be viable prospects for a new product/service, this research is imperative to success.

The key step that most companies (new or existing) fail to take into account, however, is the importance of conducting internal research—understanding the company’s successes, failures, resources, infrastructure, and communications tools that are integral to achieving sales objectives.

“How you gather, manage and use information determines whether you win or lose.” –Bill Gates

So, if your company is consistently asking these same questions…

• How do we decipher the overwhelming amount of information to determine relevancy and context?
• How do we get ahead of the game when it comes to learning about Federal Government opportunities?
• How do we find the appropriate contact to introduce and present our products and/or services?
• Why do we frequently lose to our competitors when our product/service is superior or more cost efficient?

… then you need to develop a Go-to-Market strategy!

If you’d like to take the next steps, please contact me at KGauthier@LohfeldConsulting.com and review our business winning webinar on this topic—Growing Your Business in Adjacent Markets.

Look for part 2 of our Show me the money series—The data behind a GTM strategy—coming soon.

Karen C. Gauthier—As Lead Consultant for Lohfeld Consulting Group’s Go-to-Market Strategy and Execution Practice, Karen has +20 years’ experience and expertise in marketing and business development strategy and execution directly to U.S. Federal Government (e.g., FEMA, HHS, USPS, VA), directly to prime federal contractors (e.g., BAE Systems, Boeing, CGI, Northrop Grumman, Serco), and via General Services Administration (GSA) Schedules (e.g., PSS, IT 70, 65IIA, 84, etc.) for companies of all sizes. She understands how to break down the details and determine the needs and requirements of organizations for growth. Contact Karen at KGauthier@LohfeldConsulting.com.

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